Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
